Cleaning rollers on machines for processing fibrous materials



Feb. 22, 1966 w. SCOWCROFT 3,235,898

CLEANING ROLLERS 0N MACHINES FOR PROCESSING FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed April 17, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet l mm.- Vmmn 5am" W. SCOWCRO CLEANING ROLLERS ON PROCESSING FIBROUS FT 3,235,898 MACHINES FOR MATERIALS Feb, 22, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 17, 1964 IIIWBNTOZ: W/ mm Swab" Ame 6v Feb. 22, 1966 w. sCowcRoFT 3,235,898

CLEANING ROLLERS ON MACHINES FOR PROCESSING FIBROUS MATERIALS Flled April 17, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Mann Sea-let."

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Arron/6r I United States Patent 3,235,898 CLEANING ROLLERS N MACHINES FOR PROCESSING FIBROUS MATERIALS William Scowcroft, South Reddish, Stockport, England,

assignor to The Cotton Silk and Man-Made Fibres Research Association, an association of Great Britain Filed Apr. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 360,580 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 17, 1963, 14,996/ 63 Claims. (Cl. -25652) This invention concerns the cleaning of rollers on apparatus such as machines for processing fibrous materials.

Machines for processing fibrous materials are many and various and a very common feature of such machines is the provision of rollers, in contact with 'which, over part of their peripheries, the fibrous materials pass. Many examples of such machines are to be found in the textile industry. Thus, in the conversion of raw cotton, and like fibrous materials, into yarn, cards, draw frames, speed frames and other machines are employed in which the mass of fibres, at various stages, is processed or progressed, or both, by contact with a part of the periphery of a rotating roller.

Because of the nature, inter alia, of the fibrous material being processed, and the nature of the roller with which it is in contact, it is frequently found necessary to make special provision for cleaning from the roller material which is picked up therebyeither fibrous material itself or foreign bodies present in the mass which contacts the roller, or both. This is especially the case in textile machines of the type previously referred to. Thus in some cases a doctor or scraper blade is employed, which is disposed in contact with a part of the periphery of the roller in question remote from that part which is in contact with the fibrous material. However, it is often necessary to remove such a blade at frequent intervals so that it may itself be cleaned, for otherwise its eificiency would be seriously impaired, and where this is the case it is an obvious disadvantage: the blade may be difficult of access; interruption of the machine action may be necessary; and the difficulty of ensuring regular cleaning always exists. In other cases a rotating clearer roll is disposed to contact such a part of the periphery of the roller in question. Again, however, there are often objections to the use of a rotating clearer roller, a frequent such objection being that roller lapping-that is, carrying of the whole or a large part of the mass being processed around the periphery of the processing roller-is encouraged by the action of the clearer roller, with consequent disruption of the process being carried out.

With the foregoing situation in mind the present invention has for its object to provide a new method and means by which the cleaning of rollers used in the processing of fibrous material may be effected, and, in particular a method and means which has, in many cases, improved characteristics compared with known methods and means including those currently employed.

Effort has been particularly directed, within the general context set forth hereinbefore, to the solution of a roller cleaning problem which as arisen in recently developed high speed cotton carding machines. These are carding machines fitted with the Crosrol-Varga conversion unit. This unit employs, amongst other things, two co-operating rollers, disposed, one above the other, at the output end of the machine, through the nip of which the carded web of cotton passes. At the top part of the periphery of the upper roller and the bottom part of the periphery of the lower roller scraper blades are mounted, in tangential contact with the respective rollers, for cleaning purposes. Experience has shown that, at the high production rates of carding involved, fly and trash ac- 3,235,898 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 cumulate very rapidly on the top scraper blade and its mounting. To avoid this accumulation falling onto the card web and thereby lowering the quality of the latter, frequent cleaning is necessaryoften as frequently as every half hour. This is obviously at best an inconvenience, and at worst involves serious risk (should cleaning not be carried out at the necessary intervals) of a bad quality product. Furthermore if the carding engine in question is fitted with a dust and fly extraction system such as that described in British Patent 762,403, or a similar system the scraper is not readily visible and therefore it cannot, without further inconvenience, be checked whether the appropriate cleaning schedule is being observed.

The invention, therefore, has as a more specific object the solution to the problem of the cleaning of the top Crosrol roller, in a high speed cotton carding engine fitted with a Crosrol-Varga conversion, without the foregoing drawbacks.

According to the present invention, in its broadest aspect, a method of cleaning a processing roller comprises bringing into intermittent contact with the periphery of the processing roller the periphery of a clearer roller which is mounted freely for rotation by said contact and parallel to said roller to be cleaned, the constitution of the clearer roller periphery being such that material or matter carried round by the processing roller adheres preferentially thereto. More particularly it includes the further step of moving said clearer roller, during the period when it is not in contact with the processing roller, over and into contact with the leading edge region of a scraper disposed in tangential relationship with the periphery of the processing roller, so as to arrest the rotation of the clearer roller.

The invention also broadly consists of apparatus for cleaning a processing roller which comprises a clearer roller, freely mounted for rotation parallel to the processing roller, and means for bringing the clearer roller intermittently into contact with the processing roller, so as to be rotated thereby and whilst in contact therewith, the constitution of the periphery of the clearer roller being such that material or matter carried round by the processing roller adheres preferentially thereto. In many cases the apparatus will also comprise a scraper disposed in tangential relationship with the periphery of the processing roller, over and in contact with the leading edge region of which the clearer roller is adapted to pass when out of contact with the processing roller, and whereby the rotation of the clearer roller is arrested. In such a case the clearer roller is preferably mounted above the processing roller and is also free to adjust its vertical position as a result of its contact with the processing roller and the scraper. A convenient way of mounting the clearer roller is by its ends in channels which form part of a reciprocating system for controlling the movement thereof. Preferably one or more of the following are adjustable, namely, the amplitude of reciprocation of the clearer roller, the frequency of reciprocation of the clearer roller, and the relationship of the movement of the clearer roller to the processing roller and the scraper. One such case is the case of the top Crosrol roller in a high speed cotton carding engine fitted with a Crosrol- Varga conversion unit, although the invention may be applied to processing rollers in other carding engines.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a flat carding engine for cotton, fitted with a Crosrol-Varga conversion unit, and according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic elevation of the output end of the mechaine of FIG. 1 itO a somewhat larger scale;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the output end of the machine shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detail perspective view partly in section and to a larger scale, of certain parts shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of an alternative arrangement to that shown in.FIG. 4, in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the frame of the machine is indicated by the reference numeral 10, the main cylinder by 12, the fiats by 14, the doifer by 16, the various parts at the output end of the machine by 18, andthe doffer cover of a dust extraction system similar to that described in British Patent No. 762,403 by 20.

The parts indicated by the reference numeral 18 are shown in more detail in FIG. 2. They comprise, :together with the doffer 16, a stripping roller 22, a re-directing roller 24, upper and lower Crosrol rollers 26, 28, and calender rollers 30, 32. The Crosrol rollers are each fitted with a scraper blade 34 carried by mounting 36, and the upper Crosrol roller 26 also has associated therewith a clearer roller 38 the nature and function of which will now be described in detail hereinafter. The path of the carded web is indicated by the chain dotted line.

Referring still to FIG. 2 but more particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4 the nature and function of clearer roller 38 will now be explained, it being understood that in FIG. 3 only .those parts which are of significance to the present invention are referred to (the remainder being, in general, conventional parts of a cotton carding machine. Part of the cover 20 is, in this figure, shown turned back about its hinges so as clearly to reveal the Crosrol-Varga conversion unit as modified in accordance with the present invention.

The clearer roller 38 is made from hollow steel conduit, one inch in diameter, covered with top grade flannel of the type conventionally used to cover clearer rollers on textile machines. It is freely supported at each end in a short channel 40; that is to say it is free to rotate, it being, however, constrained to move bodily with said channel whilst free to move longitudinally thereof, all in a manner which will later be described in more detail.

The channels 40, and therefore the clearer roller 38, form part of a system which oscillates, when the carding machine is in operation, in synchronism with the doffer 16. The channels 40 themselves are connected by a tie rod 42, and the channel 40 at the nearer side of the machine as seen in FIG. 3 is connected by a linkage and eccentric to the doffer 16. The doifer shaft 44 mounts the eccentric 46, which in turn is supported in a sheave 48. From the sheave 48 extends a link 50 which is connected to a further link 52 by a rocker bar 54 and arms 56, 58 thereon, the rocker bar 54 being journalled in a bearing member 60 carried by the machine frame 10. The link 52 transmits its reciprocating movement, derived from the rotation of the doifer 16, to the channels 40, by virtue of its connection to the nearer channel 40, which is by way of a bar 62 extending from that channel and an attachment 64, which has a series of holes 66 therein selectively engagcable with a pin 68 passing through the bifurcated end of the link 52. The attachment 64 is arranged to be angularly adjustable relative to the bar 62, for example engaging the bar 62 by a split end which may be clamped about the bar 62 by a grub screw passing through one of the limbs of the split end and screwing into the other limb. It will therefore be appreciated that, while the frequency of oscillation of the clearer roller 38 is entirely dependent upon the speed of opera- 66; and the latter may be varied by changing the angular relationship of the attachment 64 to the bar 62. Furth ermore the scraper 34 wit-h which the roller 38 co-operates is adjustable (the means of its adjustment not being shown, as such means could take a number of different forms, all of which are either known or well within the compass of aperson skilled in the art). This adjustment enables the relationship between movement of the roller 38 to the scraper 34 and the Crosrol roller 26 to be varied. The various adjustments which are possible will be made by trial and error to achieve optimum results, but we have found it very satisfactory to arrange, as shown in FIG. 2 especially, that the scraper 34 be tangential to a point on the periphery of roller 38 just forward of its highest point, and for the amplitude of oscillation of the roller 38 and the relationship of its movement to the scraper 34 and the roller 26 to be adjusted so that the roller 38 moves into contact with the roller 26 just forward of the end of scraper 34, and then back over the scraper 34, just contacting its leading edge. The ratio of the travel of the roller 38 over the periphery of roller 26 and :the scraper 34 is in the region 1:2. As previously indicated the frequency of oscillation of the Hgllel 38 is equal to the speed of rotation of the dolfer 1 The operation of the clearer roller 38 when the card is functioning will have become clear from the foregoing description. At one extremity of its reciprocating motion, as it comes into contact with moving periphery of the top Crosrol roller 26, and because of its free mounting, it is caused to rotate rapidly. Whilst at this part of its stroke, and so rotating, it takes up any material being carried round by the Crosrol roller 26, and continues to take up such material until, as it passes over the upper surface of the scraper 34, it is brought to rest by contact therewith. In this way the clearer roller 38 is prevented from licking up any substantial part of the fibrous web which is issuing from the nip between the two Crosrol rollers 26, 28, whilst such material as the clearer roller has taken up is thoroughly wrapped thereon in discontinuous manner. Furthermore, the clearer roller 38 also collects the material (such as seed and trash) which normally becomes wedged between the scraper and the top Crosrol roller 26, and consequently the need to remove this material manually is obviated, and also is effective to prevent undesirable accumulation of trash and fly on top of the scraper. The roller 38 continues to perform the function just described intermittently as it reciprocates.

It has been found that by setting the operation of the clearer roller 38 appropriately, the upper Crosrol roller 26 is maintained in a very clean condition, and that furthermore the clearer roller 38 is capable of taking up, and retaining thereon, a considerable amount of material, so much, in fact, that it need only be cleaned at intervals of several hours. When it does become necessary to clean 1t, it can very rapidly be removed from its supporting channels 40 and a new clearer roller inserted, without interrupting the operation of the machine.

As stated the application of the invention to a high speed cotton card with a Crosrol-Varga conversion is described by way of example only, the invention being of widergeneral application. Indeed it is thought that in some instances the provision of a clearer roller which oscillates into and out of contact with a roller which it is desired to clean will be adequate without the presence of a scraper or doctor. Furthermore, even in the example described considerable modification and variation are possible. Thus, FIG. 5 shows an alternative mechanism for operating the clearer roller 38. In this case, a small horse power motor 70 is mounted on the machine frame 10, forward of the Crosrol rollers 26, 28. The clearer roller 38, is, as before, mounted in channels 40 connected by a tie rod 42, and the scraper 34 is also disposed as before. The channels 40 are reciprocated by linkage 72, incorporating a turnbuckle 74, which connects a plate 76 ro tated by the motor 70 and the one channel 40. The one end of the linkage 72 is eccentrically secured to the plate 76 and the amount of its eccentricity may be varied by the provision of suitable means (not shown, but simply conceived). Thus the amplitude of oscillation of the roller 38 may be adjusted. By means of the turnbuckle the relationship of the movement of the clearer roller 38 to the top Crosrol: roller 26 and the scraper 34 may be ad justed. Furthermore, by having means for varying the speed of the motor 70 the frequency of oscillation of the roller 38 may be varied independently of the speed of operation of the machine.

'In the claims which follow, and also hereinbefore, We have used the term processing roller to define any roller which forms part of an apparatus or machine for procesisng or progressing a fibrous material, and which, because of its tendency to pick up on its periphery fibrous material or foreign matter contained therein, requires to be cleaned.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for cleaning a processing roller which comprises a clearer roller freely mounted for rotation parallel to the processing roller, means for bringing the clearer roller intermittently into contact with the processing roller, so as to be rotated thereby and whilst in contact therewith, the constitution of the periphery of the clearer roller being such that material or matter carried round by the processing roller adheres preferentially thereto, and a scraper disposed in tangential relationship with the periphery of the processing roller, over and in contact with the leading edge region of which the clearer roller is adapted to pass when out of contact with the processing roller, and whereby the rotation of the clearer roller is arrested.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the clearer roller is mounted above the processing roller and is also free to adjust its vertical position as a result of its contact with the processing roller and the scraper.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which the clearer roller is mounted by its ends in channels which form part of a reciprocating system for controlling the movement thereof.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which one or more of the following are adjustable, namely, the amplitude of reciprocation of the clearer roller, the frequency of reciprocation of the clearer roller, and the relationship of the movement of the clearer roller to the processing roller and the scraper.

5. In a cotton carding engine fitted with a Crosrol-Varga conversion, for cleaning the top Crosrol roller, a clearer roller, freely mounted for rotation parallel to said top Crosrol roller, a scraper disposed above and in tangential relationship with the periphery of said top Crosrol roller, and means for reciprocating said clearer roller so that it passes intermittently into contact with said top Crosrol roller so as to be rotated thereby and whilst in contact therewith, and intermittently over and in contact with the leading edge region of said scraper whereby the rotation of said clearer roller is arrested, the constitution of the periphery of said clearer roller being such that the material or matter carried round by the processing roller adheres preferentially thereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,765,496 10/1956 Adams et al. 15256.52

FOREIGN PATENTS 613,161 11/1960 Italy.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. WALTER A. SCHEEL, Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING A PROCESSING ROLLER WHICH COMPRISES A CLEARER ROLLER FREELY MOUNTED FOR ROTATION PARALLEL TO THE PROCESSING ROLLER, MEANS FOR BRINGING THE CLEARER ROLLER INTERMITTENTLY INTO CONTACT WITH THE PROCESSING ROLLER, SO AS TO BE ROTATED THEREBY AND WHILST IN CONTACT THEREWITH, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PERIPHERY OF THE CLEARER ROLLER BEING SUCH THAT MATERIAL OR MATTER CARRIED ROUND BY THE PROCESSING ROLLER ADHERES PREFERENTIALLY THERETO, AND A SCRAPER DISPOSED IN TANGENTIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PERIPHERY OF THE PROCESSING ROLLER, OVER AND IN CONTACT WITH THE LEADING EDGE REGION OF WHICH THE CLEARER ROLLER IS ADAPTED TO PASS WHEN OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE PROCESSING ROLLER, AND WHEREBY THE ROTATION OF THE CLEARER ROLLER IS ARRESTED. 